(a) Field
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to testing tools. More specifically, this description relates to interfaces between testers and devices having connectors.
(b) Related Prior Art
An electrical wiring harness typically comprises a bundle of individual connector wires of varying gauges, impedances and types, all arranged and distributed at different locations within an installation, such as a transport vehicle. Such wiring harnesses are used to interconnect the various components and subassemblies located within the vehicles.
The number of possible electrical interconnections within a vehicle grows exponentially with the number of wires and various components and subassemblies located within the vehicles.
Electrical problems within a harness or an electrical sub-system of an installation (ex: transport vehicle) are incredibly hard to identify and locate, especially for already installed harnesses. Faults can occur from bad interconnections, faulty electrical component (such as computer hardware, resistance, coil, sensor) or a software programming bug. The electrical subsystem is a combination of those elements interconnected together, and any element must perform optimally for proper performance.
In the prior art, a typical method of testing an installed harness is by using a manual test equipment to ring one, many or all nodes of the harness under test, ringing being a term known in the art for doing a continuity test. Unfortunately, such a method is inconvenient as it presents numerous drawbacks. Such a method requires that a plurality of operators be deployed at various connection points along the wiring harness, their locations being chosen in accordance with electrical schematics, and the operators communicating and coordinating testing procedures through walkie-talkies. With prior art methods, the operators have to ring cables, one at a time, which requires many operators for complex or multiple connections. It is likely that only specific connections will be tested based on the electrical schematic of the harness under test, leaving a large number of possible connections not being tested.
Another prior art method of testing a wiring harness involves connecting automated test equipment or components to the installed harness via interface cables and performing the testing. The difficulty that arises with this prior art technique is that of having at the time of the test an interface connection that on one side is connected to the test equipment, and on the other side has a mating connector that will permit to attach directly to the connector of the cable or equipment under test. This mating connector must have characteristics that will match to that of the connector of the cable or equipment under test: connector shell size, model, keyways, opposite sex male or female connectors, contacts size, model, opposite sex male or female, and others characteristics known to a person of the art. Currently, such interface connection must be prepared in advance of the test. The reality is that the user of the test equipment has to order the specific mating connectors, sometimes waiting days and weeks before a supplier can deliver them, and then incorporating them into an interface connection that will connect to the test equipment, first by manually connecting node by node all or part of the mating connector testing points, and secondly by programming the test equipment or mating interface with the characteristics of the mating connector.
It is known to the prior art that if the cable mate-in interface connection is not readily available at the time of the test, a user may prepare a temporary cable interface using clamps, terminal boards, connector contacts and other tools or devices connected to the test system generic interface connection. The difficulty from using such temporary cable interface is that it is a practice which is prone to errors and omissions and which does not allow for reliable analysis of the data recorded by the test equipment and it does not permit to record it precisely with the specification of the electrical schematics of the harness under test over time.
It is also known in the prior art that the cable mate-in interface must be programmed into a test program to allocate the sequence of the routing of the contact of the specific connector in relation to the connector of the test equipment. This practice requires time and testing to allow for reliable test procedures.
Thus, existing test equipment cannot be used to their full capacity when cable mating interface are not readily available at the time of the test, which would allow for performing testing on multiple wires at a time and allow for gathering complete and accurate information regarding the wires.
Electrical problems within various components and subassemblies are generally found using a multi-meter or other test equipment designed specifically for the component or subassembly to test; in any case, mating interfaces may also be required to carry out a full analysis of the nodes of the component or subassembly under test.
There exists therefore a need for a reliable assembly for interfacing an existing harness/equipment connector to a test module which can be automated and simplified to reduce time, cost efficient, reliable, not prone to human error and that provides adequate documentation for traceability.